 You've just found out you have to give a speech in class. Your teacher has gone over what it needs to include, but the topic choice is yours. What should you talk about? How do you figure this out? How do you keep from panicking and giving the worst speech of your life? Relax. We'll help. There are three common techniques for generating topic ideas – brainstorming, mind mapping, and free writing. We'll go over each one, along with some additional tips, and give you time to practice. By the end of this module, you'll find that it's easy to find good ideas so you can nail your next speech. Brainstorming is where you spontaneously think and write down every idea you have in order to answer a question. For instance, you may think, what should I do my speech on? And then for the next two minutes, you'll list every idea you have. Leave nothing out, no matter how ridiculous. You never know where inspiration may come from. Brainstorming gives you a list you can choose your topic from. A mind map is a visual diagram of one idea. It comes in handy when you've picked a topic but don't know how much you know about it. Unlike brainstorming where everything is a randomly generated idea, a mind map lets you link and categorize your ideas around a central concept or subject. For instance, if you wanted to give a speech on restaurants, your mind map may look like this. You've generated the types of restaurants you'd like to talk about and the kinds of food each one serves. A mind map shows you how everything you know is related so you can start organizing your information. Free writing is just that. Using a pen and paper or your computer, set your timer for five minutes or so and free write anything in sentence and paragraph form. You may start with something like, I think I should do my speech on dogs because I have two of them and they're far superior to cats. Cats are great and interesting but… and just keep going until your timer runs out. Free writing makes it easy for ideas to flow but also keeps them organized. Let's practice. Pick one of the three idea generators. Write down anything and everything related to the topic on dogs, even if it's a bit crazy. Ready? Press pause to stop the video and write your list. Press play when you're ready to continue on. Times up? What does your list look like? Is it full of ideas? If not, don't worry. This takes practice. Try it again and see how it goes. Once you've picked your general topic, we have a few suggestions for how to narrow it down into something that can be covered in a short speech. We recommend… Research. Find out what others have said on your topic. Journalistic questioning. Start organizing your content by asking yourself who, what, where, when, how and why. And ask a professional. Interview an expert in the field to see what they think is interesting or what people should know. If you're still stuck and don't know how to narrow down your topic, consider your audience. Who are they and what do they know about your topic? What would they find interesting? What could they learn? What kind of visuals would they appreciate? And what do you want them to walk away from your speech knowing? Say you're giving a speech on why everyone should spend the weekend outdoors. Your audience is your class. Spend the next 30 seconds writing down what they might like to know. Still wait. Press pause to stop the video and write your list. Press play when you're ready to continue on. This is our list. How does it compare to yours? It's okay if it's not the same. All audiences are different. What's important is considering their point of view as you write makes your speech stronger. Finally, as you work, make sure you've documented your sources. Writing down what you're reading while you conduct your research or interview helps you create an accurate bibliography. Not documenting a source is called plagiarism. Now that you have your topic, you can begin writing a draft of your speech. Remember, everyone has great ideas, but until they're written down, they don't exist. Ideas can quickly turn to forgotten memories. Begin writing early and make note of everything, even if it seems unimportant now. You never know where that next gem will come from. That's it for now. You're all set to generate ideas for your next speech. Keep in mind that these techniques can work just as well for a research paper or class assignment. With a little practice, you'll be a pro in no time. You've completed thinking about a topic generating an idea.